Monday, November 30, 2009

St. Andrew Novena

Elizabeth Foss posted a photo of the St. Andrew chaplets that she and her family made last Advent. I was inspired to do the novena this Advent with our family. I might even order some beads and medals. :)

This fall, I have been feeling very stretched between my toddler and high school senior (not to mention the three in between and the one far away), and we've taken school down a notch for the younger children. During Advent, we will do our math, read lots of beautiful Advent and Christmas stories, and create beautiful things. Our Mother Church has given us this time to prepare our hearts for the coming of the Holy Child. I want to soak up the beauty and joy of this preparatory season and do as Elizabeth said,

"In our family, we have long set aside this season for digging deeply into traditions. We do much, much more crafting than we do at any other time of year. Our academic work is narrowed to math, lots of reading from great picture books and Christmas-themed chapter books, and lots of narrating. We focus on Advent devotions and drink deeply from the well of our Church. It's a busy time and we all learn so much.At some point, Michael returns from college and fits right in--more than any other time of the year, this time is familiar and warm and welcoming for him. After immersion in faith and family, we return to "school as usual" in January more relaxed and more connected to one another and to our Savior because of our Advent traditions. It works for us."

This sounds exactly like the place I would like our family to be this Advent and Christmas.

So we begin with the St. Andrew novena, a tiny moment for God each day in the midst of all the preparatory rush.

“Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, O my God! To hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.

We are praying for so many things and people right now that it would be impossible to list them all here. Please know that if you are reading this, you are probably on the list, too, for all your intentions, spiritual and temporal needs this holy season.

And who knew that St. Andrew was the patron Saint for women trying to conceive? If you know of anyone who needs this prayer, you can add it to your own devotions, along with the prayer to Our Lady of la Leche in the sidebar. :)

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Altar serving


This morning was Joseph's first time serving at Mass. He was a little nervous before Mass.



After Mass, he confessed that last night he had a dream that he was at church to serve for the first time, but we were there early--before the 8 a.m. Protestant service that precedes the 9:30 Catholic Mass. In his dream, he put on his cassock and surplice and was ready to serve, but didn't have a candle, and it was time for the entrance procession, so he went forward with the procession anyway, but then he realized that it was the Protestant service, and he wasn't supposed to be there, so he had to escape through a pew and out the side door of the church.

Whew! Thank goodness it was only a dream!

You did a fine job, Joseph. Dad and I are very proud of you.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Last Race

The last 5K race of the year was today. It was a fitting finish to the running season--windy and raining.

We learned a little bit more about cold weather running. One needs fewer clothes later in the race than at the beginning. If it's raining, it's rather pointless trying to stay dry.

Only about 100 people showed up this month instead of the usual 300 to 400. Everyone stayed inside the gym until about 3 minutes before the start. The organizers yelled "Go!" as soon as most of us were at the line.

The first part of the race was the same as usual--jostling for position and trying to settle into a pace. We had the wind behind us for the first half. That wouldn't last, since we were running an out-and-back route. My glasses were just rain covered until we got to the turn-around. Then, with the wind blowing in our faces, my glasses fogged up. To avoid runners, puddles and other obstacles, I had to look over them once in a while.

With the discomfort of the weather, it was nearly impossible to settle into a good rhythm. Katie must have felt the same way, especially since her knees started hurting her a quarter of the way through. If the rain bothered Patrick, it was hard to tell. He and his friend Rye (also a cross-country runner) were near the front of the pack for the entire race. At the finish, Rye was second and Patrick was fifth. There was no official timer, so we don't know our actual times. There were about 30 people waiting at the finish when I arrived. Katie came in a couple minutes after I did.

The two of us looked for Patrick in the gym, then headed back to our car. We found him when we found Rye's car. The only thing on anyone's mind was getting home and taking a hot shower. The hot chocolate waiting for us was a perfect consolation.

The support crew at home before the race


Patrick arrives home again


Katie glad to be done


John still dripping in the doorway


The damp and dreary weather

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Vocabulary lessons

Matthew, telling Joseph about some jack-o-lantern pictures that he colored:

"This pumpkin is astonished. That's why I drew his mouth like a big 'o'."

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

One more thing

Can I just share that when Meghan reaches up for my kitchen Madonna and signs "please" and when given the statue to hold, bestows kisses on Mary and Baby Jesus I think it is one of the sweetest things any of my children have ever done?

Okay, back to Patrick's transcripts and relative radio silence.

Halloween

I wanted to share an article from First Things that I saw linked on Melanie Bettenelli's blog.

Another Catholic homeschooling mom and I were talking about this very thing just before All Hallow's Eve. Our experience here is so different from the U.S. The base is flooded--literally: my friend went through 20 bags of candy in under an hour at one piece per child--with local Japanese children who want to trick-or-treat. Our evangelical protestant friends participate in church activities. Lutheran friends shared that they spent the day singing hymns in celebration of "Reformation Day". The chapel offers an alternative to Halloween "Harvest Party" on the 31st during the on-base trick-or-treating hours of 6-9 p.m.

Back in the U.S., we trick-or-treated at the homes of friends and celebrated with a big All Saints' Day party with our homeschool co-op. Our former pastor here invited the kids wear Saint costumes to the All Saints Day Mass for a couple of years, but the new pastor hasn't carried on the tradition. So the only emphasis on that will come from our own efforts. I miss the support we received from our parish back home in our efforts to infuse the Faith into our children's lives by celebrating the events of the liturgical year.

My only quibble with the First Things article is that I do think the connections between Halloween, All Saint's Day, and All Soul's Day are more clearly made if the children's Halloween costumes are somehow connected to a Saint. I admit that we apply that principle pretty loosely around here, but it is still the undercurrent of the feast. This year, for example, Katie was a baker (connection: St. Elizabeth of Hungary, patroness of bakers), Joseph was Luke Skywalker (St. Joseph of Cupertino, patron of pilots), and Matthew was a robot (St. Martin de Porres, servant in his monastery, as robots are servants of the people who use them--a stretch, I know, but there isn't any St. Roboticus...). Meghan was easier--she wore the baby angel costume I made for Patrick back when we lived in Turkey and the kids trick-or treated at the various offices on Ankara Air Station.

Anyway, the article expressed so many of my thoughts on the subject so well that I don't really feel the need to write anything else. But I wanted to share with you "The Drama of Hallowmas".

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Pumpkin Carving

Here's a short look at our Halloween Eve pumpkin carving extravaganza.

(Password: jack)

Halloween Pumpkin Carving from John & Judith Riordon on Vimeo.